This article was originally published by The Epoch Times: Charlie Kirk’s Enduring Legacy Lives On
Charlie Kirk’s life and career were marked by a profound commitment to conservativism, free speech, and American patriotism, often sparking intense debate across political lines. Whatever one’s opinion of Charlie, his steadfast position that free speech is the cornerstone of civilization remains a message that must be proclaimed throughout Western democracies. It is through the sword of speech that the battle of ideas are to be fought and not through the barrel of a gun.
During a recent speech at the Oxford Union debating forum in England, Charlie articulated: “My wish for the left is that you will become liberal again and no longer leftist. Free speech is a liberal value. It is not a left-wing value. … You should be allowed to say outrageous things. You should be allowed to say contrarian things. Free speech is a birthright that you gave us, and you guys decided not to codify it, and now it’s poof, it’s basically gone. I think there’s something really troubling about that because I want you to imagine one day that [the Reform Party] might take over this government. … You guys are about to see a political revolution, if the stars align, that could mirror what happened in America. So, when that happens, do you want Nigel Farage, prime minister, to be able to lock you up if you criticize his government?”
The room was silent.
“If your answer is no,” Charlie continued, “then you have a moral obligation to make sure that your prime minister and the MPs advocate for a value-neutral free speech policy. So regardless of who is in power in this country, you guys can challenge, and you guys can speak openly. That is the bedrock of a liberal democracy.”
His words were met with resounding applause.
What Charlie communicated in that august chamber was a powerful reminder of the greatest wisdom of the ages—free speech is essential in the battle of ideas. It remains even more poignant now that he has been gunned down for addressing issues that some did not want him to discuss. Ideas often outlive their originators. History is replete with the murder of those who express unpopular thoughts—from Socrates to Jesus, from Jesus to Martin Luther King Jr., we have silenced many who dared challenge the status quo.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn observed that the line between good and evil flows through every human heart. None of us is immune from the temptation to despise our ideological opponents. Ideas are frightening to many because acknowledging a difference in opinion can imply that one’s own views might be flawed. This discomfort with having cherished views challenged creates a dissonance that can lead to avoidance. Or in the case of extremists, murder is seen as a legitimate means to silence opposition.
However, if history has taught us anything over the last 5,000–6,000 years, it is that no single person or group has all the answers. We are perpetually questioning and analyzing what benefits humanity most. There is no ultimate answer, yet there is substantial wisdom in who we are and how we ought to live during times of unprecedented change and upheaval. Sadly, current generations often ignore past wisdom, dismissing it as “not in step” with modern times. Consequently, we are left to relearn basic principles that should be foundational. Society’s glorification of innovation over tradition often leads to the abandonment of hard-earned wisdom, and history shows that such disrespect for the past can have detrimental consequences.
Conservatism was at the heart of Charlie Kirk. When asked at Oxford how liberals might better understand conservatives, he replied, “I would encourage all of you who are intellectually honest and, on the left, … to know what conservatives believe better than conservatives, read our literature. Read C.S. Lewis’s ‘Mere Christianity.’ Go read Edmund Burke. Go read Russell Kirk … Go read Milton Friedman. Understand it. Spend time with it. Treat it with respect. Don’t just do it as a passerby.”
Charlie invested time in understanding left-wing ideology to better comprehend his opponents’ views. His insatiable appetite for study made him a formidable force. For those sensitive to having their ideas challenged, Charlie posed a threat to their ideological comfort.
Ideas were the currency with which Charlie bargained on university campuses. The more he debated, the stronger he became. Yet, he engaged respectfully with his audience, including those who disagreed with him. As a Christian, he took his religious commitments seriously and refrained from degrading others. He was partisan and a strong American patriot who believed in America’s mission and focus as a force for good in the world. Courageous and unwilling to cower, even when cautioned by his friend Jack Posobiec about the assassination attempt against President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Charlie reiterated his compulsion to continue engaging with America’s youth. He viewed it as the only effective way to encourage young people to take conservativism seriously. His organization, Turning Point USA, embraces the tagline “Changing a Generation,” promoting freedom-loving American values on over 3,500 campuses.
Ideas are infectious. Destroying a messenger does not annihilate the message once spoken or written. Ideas once uttered are immortal. Young men like Charlie are rare because of their courage to put in speech and print their prescriptions of ideas drawn from the past. In this sense, while Charlie may be assassinated, his life’s work, though cut short, lives on. The world is better because he walked in it and spoke words imbued with the wisdom of the past that will endure forever despite the assassin’s bullet.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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